 |
| |
| Tissue Culture: The propagation of plant by using plant part or single cell or group of cells in test
tube under very controlled and hygienic conditions is called ‘Tissue Culture’. |
| |
| Status in India: Banana is globally important fruit crop with more than 150 million tones of
production. In India it support livelihood of million peoples with annual production of 30 million tones
from 1000 thousand ha area. Banana occupies 20% area among the total area under crop in India. |
| |
| Climate: Banana is a tropical crop, grows well in temp range 130C to 380C with RH regime of 75-
85%. Chilling injury occurs at temp below 130C and higher temp causes sun scorching. High velocity wind
which exceeds 80 kmph damages the crop. |
| |
| Soil: Deep, well drained neutral black loams and sandy loams with pH 5.5 - 7.5 suitable. |
| |
| Season: Planting can be done throughout the year except the temperature is too low or high. |
| |
| Varieties: In India banana is grown under diverse conditions and production systems. Grand
naine has gained popularity and most preferred variety due to its tolerance to a biotic stresses and good
quality bunches. |
| |
| Land preparation: Prior to planting grow the green manuring crop like daincha, cowpea etc.
and burry it in the soil. The land can be ploughed 3-4 times and leveled. Break the clod and bring the
soil to a fine tilt. During soil preparation basal dose of FYM is added and thoroughly mixed into the
soil. A pit size of 1.5’ X 1.5’ X 1.5’ is required. The pits are to be refilled with topsoil mixed with 5 kg
of FYM (well decomposed), 250 gm of Neem cake and 5 g of phorate. Prepared pits are left open for
2-3 weeks for solar radiation to kill all the insects, soil born diseases and for aeration before refilling. |
| |
| Planting material: Tissue culture plants are recommended because they are healthy, disease
free, uniform and authentic. Properly secondary hardened seedlings are to be used for planting. |
| |
| Spacing: 51/2’ X 51/2’ is preferred for Grand Naine and the spacing can be increased for a better
result. |
| |
| Irrigation: Irrigate the plants immediately after planting. Apply sufficient water and maintain
field capacity. Do not give excess or less irrigation. And hence drip method is must for proper water
management in Banana. |
| |
| |
| |
| Age of the crop (days after planting) |
Water requirement Ltr/plant/day |
| Up to 60 days |
5-6 |
| 61-90 days |
6-8 |
| 91-120 days |
10-12 |
| 121-150 days |
14-16 |
| 151-180 days |
16-18 |
| 181-flowering and bunch formation |
18-20 |
| Till bunch maturity |
20-22 |
| The table can be vary as per soil type and climate. |
| Reduce or stop irrigation when majority of bunches have come to harvest. |
|
| |
| Fertigation: Banana requires high amount of nutrients, which are often supplied only in part by the soil. Nutrient requirement is to be 20 kg FYM, 200gm N; 60-70gm P; 300gm K/plant. Banana requires heavy nutrition. Banana crop requires 7-8 Kg N, 0.7- 1.5 Kg P and 17-20 Kg K per metric ton yield. Banana responds well to application of nutrients. In order to avoid loss of nutrients from conventional fertilizers i.e. loss of N through leaching, volatilization, evaporation and loss of P and K by fixation in the soil, application of water soluble or liquid fertilizers through drip irrigation (fertigation) is encouraged. A 25-30% increase in yield is observed by using proper fertigation. Moreover, it saves labour and time and the distribution of nutrients is uniform. |
| |
| Schedule of application: The fertilizer schedule for tissue culture banana (Grand Naine) is given in the Tables below: |
| |
| Solid fertilizer for Grand Naine Banana |
| |
Total nutrient requirement |
| N - 170 gm/plant |
P -45 gm/plant |
K -185 gm/plant |
Total quantity of fertilizer required per acre |
| Urea (N) 218 Kg |
SSP (P) 65 Kg |
MOP (K) 272 Kg |
|
| |
| Period of Application |
Source |
Qty (gm / plant) |
Period of Application |
Source |
Qty (gm / plant) |
| At the time of Planting (soil mixing) |
S.S.P. |
125 |
After 125 Days |
Urea |
62.5 |
| M.O.P |
105 |
S.S.P |
125 |
| After 30 Days |
Urea |
62.5 |
After 165 Days |
Urea |
62.5 |
| After 75 Days |
Urea |
62.5 |
M.O.P. |
105 |
| |
S.S.P |
125 |
After 210 Days |
Urea |
62.5 |
| |
Micronutrient |
25 |
After 255 Days |
Urea |
62.5 |
| |
MgSO4 |
25 |
M.O.P. |
105 |
| |
Sulpher |
10 |
After 300 Days |
Urea |
62.5 |
| |
|
|
M.O.P. |
105 |
|
| |
| Fertilizer schedules given are only guideline. Please make necessary changes as per soil condition and experience. (SSP = Single Super Phosphate, MOP = Muriate of Potash) |
| |
| Weeding: Always keep the field weed free. Spraying of Glyphosate (Round up) before planting
at the rate of 2 lit/ha is advisable and only manual weeding is suggested after plantation. |
| |
| De-suckering: Removal of unwanted side suckers is a critical operation in banana for reducing
internal competition with mother plant. De-suckering should be done regularly until flowering. However
one sucker can allow for second ratoon. The follower should be opposite to the inflorescence. It should
not be far apart from the main plant. |
| |
| Deflowering: Remove the flower within one week after the formation of all hands. |
| |
| Pruning of leaves: Rubbing leaves damages the fruit, therefore, such leaves should also be
pruned during regular check. Older leaves and infected leaves to be pruned as required. Green leaves
should not be removed. |
| |
| Earthing up: Harrow the soil in time to keep the soil loose. Earthing up should be done at 3-
4 months after planting i.e. raising the soil level around the base of the plant by 10-12”. It is better to
prepare a raised bed and keep the drip line on bed 2-3” away from the plant. It also helps to protect
plants from wind damage and production losses to some extent.. |
| |
| Bunch Spray: Spray of monocrotophos (0.2%) after emergence of all hands takes care of the
thrips. Thrips attack discolors the fruit skin and makes it unattractive. |
| |
| Bunch Covering: Covering bunch using dried leaves of the plant is economical and prevents the
bunch from direct exposure to sunlight. Bunch cover enhances quality of fruit. But in rainy season this
practice should be avoided. Sleeving of bunch is done to protect fruits against dust, spray residue, insect
and birds. For this blue plastic sleeves are preferred. This also increases temperature around developing
bunch and helps in early maturity. |
| |
| De-handling of false hands of bunch: There may be some incomplete hands in the bunch which
will not fit the quality. These hands should be removed soon after bloom. This helps in improving the
weight of other hands. Sometimes the hand just above the false hand is also removed. |
| |
| Propping: Due to heavy weight of bunch the plant goes out of balance and the bearing plant
may lodge and production and quality are adversely affected. Therefore they should be propped with the help of two bamboos forming a triangle by placing them against the stems on the leaning side. This
also helps in uniform development of bunch. |
| |
| Harvesting: Banana should be harvested at the physiological maturity stage for better post
harvest quality. The fruit is climacteric and can reach consumption stage after ripening operation |
| |
| Maturity indices: These are established on the basis of fruit shape, angularity, grade or diameter
of the median figure of the second hand, starch content and number of days that have elapsed after
flowering. Market preferences can also affect the decision for harvesting a slight or full mature fruit. |
| |
| Removal of bunch: Bunch should be harvested when figures of second hand from top are 3/4
rounded with the help of sharp sickle 30cm above the first hand. Harvest may be delayed up to 100-110
days after opening of the first hand. Harvested bunch should generally be collected in well padded tray
or basket and brought to the collection site. Bunches should be kept out of light after harvest, since this
hastens ripening and softening. |
| |
| Yield: The planted crop gets ready for harvest within 11-12 months of planting. First ratoon crop
would be ready by 8-10 month from the harvesting of the main crop and second ratoon by 8-9 months
after the second crop. Thus over a period to 28-30 months, it is possible to harvest three crops. |
| |
| Advantages of Tissue Culture Banana Plants |
Normal sword sucker banana plants |
| True to the type of mother plant under well management |
Quality of mother plants will not be similar so result won’t get according to the expectation. |
| Pest and disease free seedlings. |
Suckers generally may be infected with some pathogens and nematodes which will effect the growth and yield. |
| Uniform growth, increases yield |
Due to the variation in age and size of sucker the growth of crop is not uniform and there is no possibility of better yield. |
| Early maturity of crop - maximum land use is possible in low land hoping country like India |
Maturity is normal but the land utilization will not be possible as Tissue Culture Plants. |
| Round the year planting possible as seedlings are made available throughout the year. |
A bulk quantity of suckers will not be available through out the year. |
| Successive two ratoons are possible in short duration which minimizes cost of cultivation |
Two ratoons are possible but the harvesting is further prolonged and yield will be average. |
| No staggered harvesting. |
Always staggered harvesting so management becomes very difficult. |
| 95% - 98% plants bears bunches |
Mutations of plants are much higher than Tissue Culture Plants. |
| New varieties can be introduced and multiplied in short duration |
Not at all possible with sword sucker banana plants. |
| Therefore, Tissue culture plants are better choice for planting. |
|
| |
